Kroll, the leading independent provider of global financial and risk advisory solutions, and StepStone Group, a leading global private markets investment firm, have launched three new payment-in-kind (PIK) indicators within the Kroll StepStone Private Credit Benchmarks, giving lenders, investors and analysts greater visibility into the use of noncash interest across private credit. The indicators cover more than 28,000 direct lending instruments, 18,000 deals and 13,000 borrowers, with historical data extending back to 2012.

The new measures track loans with an active PIK component across the U.S. and Europe as well as across different sectors and obligor-size segments using three distinct metrics:

The data offers a reliable view on the dynamic role that noncash interest plays in private credit markets, including the variance in PIK activity across EBITDA segments, geographies and sectors. For example, the Benchmarks indicate that on a global basis PIK use is currently moderating rather than accelerating. Across loans originated globally during the previous 12 months, PIK represented 2.86% of interest income as of October 10, 2026, compared with 6.67% across the global cohort of outstanding loans at the end of Q2 2026.

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Michael H. Dolan, President of Financial Advisory at Kroll says, “Private credit and private capital markets have demonstrated relatively solid fundamentals, despite a prolonged period of higher borrowing costs and economic uncertainty.

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